A vehicle bumper structure is known, for example, which extends in the right-and-left direction at a rear end of the vehicle, extends forward to reach wheel arches at right and left ends thereof, and is thereby formed into a substantially U-shape in plan view. For example, Japanese Patent No. 2505898 describes a structure in which a flange for attaching a fender component, such as a wheel housing outer, thereto is substantially vertically disposed on the inner surface of a rear bumper side (bumper side part) that faces a wheel arch. A closing plate that internally covers a boundary between a rear fender and the bumper side part is attached to the flange. This prevents muddy water splashed inside the wheel arch from oozing through the boundary.
In the structure of the related art, where the fender component is directly attached to the flange, the position of the flange may be restricted by the shape of the fender component or, conversely, the shape of the fender component may be restricted by the position of the flange. As a result, the degree of freedom of designing the fender component and the flange is reduced.
In recent years, there has been a need to reduce the bulge of the bumper side part caused by wind pressure during running of the vehicle. However, the closing plate provided inside the bumper side part of the related art is flat in shape, and makes little contribution to enhanced stiffness of the bumper side part.